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eating disorders and media influence essay
eating disorder ,body image and gender
eating disorders and media influence essay
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The Cause and Effects of Eating Disorders The first time 10-year old Mary becomes self conscious about her weight is when she sees her mother looking at a magazine with a cover of a thin woman in a bikini with the bold print declaring, “Is She Fat or Pregnant?” Children are surrounded with the media filling their heads that being thin or muscular is the only way they can be beautiful, resulting in eating disorders. Their bodies have to be society's perfection in order to be accepted and to do so they take dangerous actions. At least 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of becoming fat (Mellin et al.,). Children, just like Mary, have been poisoned to think that having a perfect body is the only way they are going to be happy or loved. With the media's view of perfection being displayed on every magazine or advertisement, people are more likely to suffer through an eating disorder, bringing the problems that come with one right behind it. The physical effects are not the only consequences to an eating disorder; it also brings physiological and life changes effects. While there has never been a root of cause for eating disorders, there are many factors that cause an eating disorder to occur, such as the Western Culture and photoshop. The National Eating Disorders Association says eating disorders are caused by “a combination of long-standing behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors”(NEDA). The media is a huge influence to people who are already self conscious about their weight. As more photos are being photoshopped, the more people will think that is the only type of beauty. Photoshop has become more than retouching a photo; it has become a tool to remake a person’s body into an unattainable... ... middle of paper ... ... and support people can recover from it. Work Cited: Collins, M.E. (1991). Body figure perceptions and preferences among pre-adolescent children. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 199-208. American Medical Association. "AMA Adopts New Policies at Annual Meeting" N.p, 21 June 2011. Web. 16 Mar 2014. . Martin, J. B. (2010). The Development of Ideal Body Image Perceptions in the United States.Nutrition Today, 45(3), 98-100. Retrieved from nursingcenter.com/pdf.asp?AID=1023485 National Eating Disorders Association. "Factors That May Contribute to Eating Disorders" Web. 17 March 2014 . "Eating Disorders." Mental Health America. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Jare, Peter. "Eating Disorders and Depression: How They're Related." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
National Eating Disorder Association (2006). The media, body image, and eating disorders. Retrieved October 11, 2008, from http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
The complications that accompany body image have long been an issue in society. Body image is the sense of how an individual views his or her own body as compared to others in society, or what is considered to be the ideal body image. There are many different factors that effect ones body image, but a major influence is the media. The media has long been associated with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where an individual participates in self-starvation, and bulimia is an eating disorder where an individual will eat as much as he or she wishes and then purges the previously eaten food. These are two destructive eating disorders that are associated with a negative body image. This comes to question, does media have an influence on creating a negative body image, which may inherently lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia? Anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect various age groups but is extremely common in adolescence and emerging adulthood. During this stage in an individual’s lifespan there is a lot going on with ones psychological development as well as body. How an adolescent views his or her body image be highly impacted by how the media portrays what the ideal body image is. According to Berger (2015), “as might be expected from a developmental perspective, healthy eating begins with childhood habits and family routines” (p.415). If proper eating habits are not implemented negative body image and eating disorders that are associated with media becomes further predominant in adolescence and emerging adulthood.
This book provides information on what these conditions are, what causes them, how people live with them, and the latest about treatment and prevention. The book focuses on eating disorders as a whole rather than just individual types of disorders. The source is not up to date at it was published six years ago and the statistics have changed and there is now more knowledge on eating disorders such as using neuroimaging to find what triggers eating disorders. The sources cited within the print is based off of other published prints. This print only gives the broad idea and main concept about eating disorders, it does not go into great detail so it was not very useful as a research source. This source is intended for those who is learning about eating disorders for the first time. It also includes a variety of graphs and charts to display different statistics which is designed to be productive and visually entertaining. Lorraine does cover the topic well as it allows the reader to easily find a variety of information on eating disorders that gives very clear and concise explanations with scientific
Our society today is heavily influenced by the media and the imagery it shows. Though it may be indirect, the media provides unhealthy messages about ideal body sizes, gender attractiveness, and weight control that make women view themselves in a negative way. Magazines, television, and movies influence teenage girls on what they believe their body image should be. The images they show set the standard of what is considered physically attractive in our society. With the use of photoshop, media depicts falsified images of models and actresses to create a perfected look that is unattainable by the average woman. This creates a desire among teenage girls to look like these stars that are often shown. When teenage girls look at these images, they compare themselves to those images, and then judge themselves based on these comparisons. These judgements can potentially lead to eating disorders. In order to prevent the risk of eating disorders among teenage girls, the media should depict a typical image of people, rather than idolizing a specific standard of beauty.
O’Dea, J. (1995). Body image and nutritional status among adolescents and adults. Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, 25, 56-67.
Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Most of us have come to appreciate ourselves for who we are. While other’s struggle to achieve the perfect body. They strive to be what is depicted in fashion magazines and movies. The never ending obsession to be the perfect size zero. This inevitably can lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders can cause someone to have an unhealthy image of themselves and food is the enemy. In a national survey at the Mclean Hospital in Massachusetts it was estimated that over 9 million people suffer with eating disorders. They can struggle with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. A study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that most of these diseases start before the age of twenty. Another growing problem in the United States is obesity. Over 60 million Americans suffer from this disease, this according to the American Obesity Association (gale opposing viewpoints: eating disorders 2010).
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Diseases and Conditions: Eating Disorders.” Mayo Clinic, 08 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 February 2014.
ANAD. “Eating Disorders Statistics”. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, Inc., 2013.Web. 18 Nov 2013.
The correlation between eating disorders and other psychological disorders is very important for our understanding of the causes and possible treatments for eating disorders. It is known that many people with eating disorders also fit the criteria for several DSM-IV psychological disorders. If researchers can find patterns of comorbidity between these two types of disorders they may be able to better diagnose and treat patients with both of these disorders. The question that I pose it what is the relationship between eating disorders and personality disorders(axis 11 disorders in DSM-IV)? It is important to look for comorbidity between the two disorders to determine the impact they have on each other. Once we understand their relationship we may be able to prevent one disorder by treating the other or maybe use the same type of therapy to treat both. In order to answer the question posed I have reviewed several major research articles on the prevalence and comorbidity of personality disorders and eating disorders.
Today, America is plagued with eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Compulsive Eating Disorders. Each has its own characteristics that distinguish the illness yet there are some similarities that they also share. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, as with most mental illnesses, eating disorders are not caused by just one factor but by a combination of behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal and social factors. Shockingly, they also report that in the United States, there are as many as 10 million females and 1 million males that are battling with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Additionally, another 25 million are struggling with binge eating disorders (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org). Typically, psychological factors such as depression and low self-esteem contribute to eating disorders...
“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it is clear that, although virtually all women are exposed to these socio-cultural influences, only a very small proportion develop clinical eating disorders (Mazzeo and Bulik). Every article believes that socio-culture have an impact on eating disorders. Although, researchers believe that is not the only reason, and the easiest statement to make. Eating disorders are far more complicated than it just being blamed on the media. Bagley, Mazzeo and Bulik all state that media play a role in the development but are not the main reason to developing an eating disorder. In all of the research done thus far media is a part of eating disorders, but not the only culprit.
"Causes of Eating Disorders." Mental Help. N.p., 2 Feb 2007. Web. 20 Feb 2014. .
Mental health disorders. People with depression, anxiety disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder are more likely to have an eating disorder.
O’Dea, J. (1995). Body image and nutritional status among adolescents and adults. Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, 25, 56-67.
Rosenblum, G. and Lewis, M. "The relations among body image, physical attractiveness, and body mass in adolescence." Child Development 70.1 (1999): 50-64. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00005